Neighbors near the Occupy Iowa camp in Des Moines said protesters took some of a man's belongings Wednesday after he was evicted from his apartment.

A KCCI news crew was at the camp on Wednesday to do a story on how protesters were surviving the cold when the controversy broke out.

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Wednesday morning, neighbors said they saw two Occupy Iowa protesters moving a mattress across the street and that set off a fiery exchange between neighbors and protesters.

"Them Occupy Iowa people, two of the men came over and took this TV and put it on a flatbed. They got over there and was wheeling it across the street. I told them, 'How dare you come over here and take this 65-year-old man's (belongings) who has been put out,'" said the neighbor.

Neighbors said the TV, other furniture and items belong to a man evicted from an apartment near Stewart Park Square where the Occupy Iowa camp is located. A woman caring for two small children was also evicted from her apartment, they said.

The belongings from the apartment were put on the curb when the apartment was cleaned out.

Neighbors told KCCI that the Occupy protesters went through the belongings, taking what they wanted.

"To steal people's furniture that have been set out of their house, to drag over there under the guise of, 'We are Occupy Iowa, is wrong,'" said

Two neighbors who spoke to KCCI about the incident said they are not against what Occupy Iowa stands for, but they are against people who use the camp to suit their situation.

"This is not no Occupy Iowa, this is, 'let's be homeless,' use the guise of Occupy Iowa and do whatever the hell we want," said the neighbor.

"We don't stand that way. We stood and tried to guard it and watch their stuff, but at the same time we are not responsible for 24-hour guard of them," said Archie Horton, an Occupy Iowa protester.

"You said the political statement you are trying to make is you are fighting for people who are homeless and have been evicted so isn't it hypocritical to come over here and take stuff from people who have been evicted just because their stuff was put on the street?" asked McIntosh.

"I just don't understand the connection you are trying to make," said protester Bob Allen.

"You don't understand the question or you don't want to understand," said McIntosh.

"I want to understand. I understand completely. I understand there is an issue trying to be made about us somehow stealing property that was put next to the street when in fact this is commonplace and happens everywhere," said Allen.

The two neighbors we interviewed in the story did not want to be identified or have their face shown.

Members of Occupy Iowa said the people who lived across the street were more than welcome to come to the park to see if any of their belongings were there.